Chase, gunfire raise questions for parents

Be honest but don't over-share, psychologist says

STOCKTON - As three bank robbers led police on a high-speed chase filled with heavy gunfire that sprayed cars and homes along the path, families who watched or lived in the areas took a variety of actions related to how they would protect their children.

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By Keith Reid

recordnet.com

By Keith Reid

Posted Jul. 18, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By Keith Reid
Posted Jul. 18, 2014 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

STOCKTON - As three bank robbers led police on a high-speed chase filled with heavy gunfire that sprayed cars and homes along the path, families who watched or lived in the areas took a variety of actions related to how they would protect their children.

Some allowed their children to join them and stand behind yellow crime-scene tape after the chase ended, and as investigators worked the scene.

Others reacted with more caution.

Paul Dutra, 44, wasn't at home near the end of the chase, but his daughters were. The first time gunfire from rattled the neighborhood earlier in the chase, his 18-year-old daughter was asleep. He was on the phone with her when the pursuit was reaching its end, and he heard his 9-year-old in the background.

"My little one started screaming," Dutra said. "I told them to get in the bathtub and lie down."

It's normal for adults and children to have strong reactions to a horrific event such as Wednesday's car chase, which ended in three fatal shootings, Stockton psychologist Scott Jensen said. The key for parents talking to their children is to remain calm and to discuss the situation with facts and to share information without being emotional.

"If parents are distraught, then their children will be distraught," said Jensen, a child psychologist who also is an associate professor and department chair at University of the Pacific.

Jensen said parents who wonder how much to share with children about Wednesday's events - or any tragic situation - is to first gauge how much their children already know. With social media, children may know more than parents realize, he said.

"Ask if they've heard about it and if they have any questions," Jensen said. "You want to answer honestly. Don't hide information, but at the same time, don't over-share information."

Pac Chea, 38, said he's done just that. His 15-year-old daughter was playing with her younger cousins in the family's backyard near Thornton Road when the gunfire started. The girls started crying, and Chea told them to "take cover."

"I'm just answering their questions when they ask," Chea said. "They mainly just are confused on why mean people would do something like this."

Jensen said honesty is the best policy.

"Kids are more resilient than parents expect them to be. They don't process this the same way adults do," Jensen said. "They also know, or almost always know, when parents aren't giving the real details. Just open up."

Record reporter Zachary K. Johnson contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 546-8257 or kreid@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/edublog and on Twitter @KReidme.